Unplanned
by Yoursoulismine
Summary: Sigourney is an orphaned centaur who was taken under her alphas wing. When their herd has to leave it's home, they travel to another valley to stay for a few months. Once they get there Sigourney meets Soul, the other Alpha's son. When they are attacked on a hunt, they are taken from their herd. What will happen? (Really bad at summaries.)
1. Chapter 1

{00.01}

"What the hell is Alpha thinking? Tommy and Dahlia are gonna fall off the side of that cliff if they aren't careful, and he knows they aren't! I'm gonna go up to the front and ask if he can keep an eye on the foals." I shook my head and passed Tilly to catch up to Alpha. The eldest of our pack were all trotting up near Alpha. They were all fairly far ahead so I had enough room to gallop down the trail and up to Kenai.

"Kenai, do you know where we're going? The little ones are playing and I'm worried. They're still young and unaware of their surroundings and this path is dangerous!" I explained. He kept his head forward, his hooves making the quiet clicking noise that came from all of our hooves.

"I have no idea, all Alpha said was we were leaving the valley for a couple months because of predators, which is understandable, but it is a pretty dangerous path." He agreed. I nodded and squeezed past him and a few others until I was trotting beside Alpha.

"Alpha, um, where are we going?" my hands twisted together in front of my belly.

"There is a large valley near the canyon, another herd resides there but their Alpha is kind and accepts that we cannot stay in our home for now. So we are staying with them for a few months." I nodded and looked down at my hands, then back up at him.

"You see, the little ones are playing and the path isn't safe for roughhousing. I'm just worried about one of them getting hurt." Alpha nodded and halted, I did the same along with the others around us. He turned around and galloped through us and down the path to where some mares and foals were trotting and either chatting or chasing each other.

"Enough. Now, this path is incredibly steep and incredibly dangerous if you were to lose your footing. There will be no more chasing each other or pushing barrels or pulling tails, and especially no tripping others. I have eyes Tommy, I know you do it. Let's all head up to the front, there isn't much of this path left so let's just canter the rest of it. Everyone! Canter!" It starts with Alpha so he can get to the head of the pack, next go Alphas family, then the stallions, and in the rear are the mares and foals. I am the one exception in our pack. Unless I choose to stay back with Tilly, I am in the front with Alpha. Tilly began chatting with another young mare so I slipped quickly past the stallions and up beside Alpha. He glanced over at me before facing forward again. I am to be the next Alpha, once Will can no longer lead the herd, I will step in and become Alpha.

"Ho! Sig!" Alpha cried out over the thunder of hooves hitting the ground. I shook my head and looked beside me, Alpha had wide eyes and his hands were beside his head. I frowned and looked around; we were off the path at last. I slowed to a slow trot.

"What happened? You were totally out of it and just took off down the trail; goddamn you're too young and fast for me. How old are you anyway? Ten?" I giggled and halted.

"Eight actually, how long was I going? I don't see anybody?" I turned around and began walking back towards the path.

"I told everyone to just walk while I went to go get you." I laughed again and reared. My front hooves still in the air, I laughed and pawed the air before setting them back on the ground.

"Race ya Will!" I barely got the words out before I took off towards the herd. I could hear him catching up, or trying to. I was large for my age, with the energy of a young stallion. I was a big black filly with long legs. The human parts of me were cream colored, with a thick curly mess of long black hair on top of my head. Instead of being bred I was raised to protect. I wore a bow over my shoulder and kept a sword at my hip. I was easily the fastest centaur in our entire herd.

"Ha! Beat you! Again!" I laughed and reared and bucked along with Tommy.

"Alright, we're gonna canter to the end of the trail. Don't go disappearing on me now." Alpha winked and nudged me. I smiled back.

"Let's go." Alpha went up ahead of me and began going faster, so I followed. We were hitting the ground three beats at a time.

"Ooh man I can't wait to meet the new herd. I really hope they have some filly's my age, there's only Tilly and Brian in ours." I mumbled excitedly. I began to recognize the foliage and squealed.

"We're almost there!" I began to go faster, but remembered the herd and kept my pace. We thundered forward for a few minutes before I spotted the area where Will had stopped me, nothing could hold me back, I took off flying towards the open fields. I could hear Will calling me but I was focused on getting out of there. Suddenly I was five feet away from the end of the path. I came to a halt just before I came of the path and sat back on my haunches. I stretched my arms and yawned.

"Really Sig! Just because you are fast, doesn't mean you HAVE to go fast. Up, come on, let's go. You can go as fast as you want in the fields." I grinned and rose to all fours. The others were waiting patiently behind us.

"Really! I can?" I stamped my foot.

"You may as well get it out now while it's just us." He sighed; I squealed and took off through the field. Tilly came galloping up behind me, but couldn't quite catch up.

"YAHOO!" I screamed and bucked.


	2. Chapter 2

{00.02}

"Here it is, go find an elderly black and white mare and tell her Will's herd has arrived." Alpha leaned over to me and said quietly. I nodded and cantered off to find the old mare.

"Black and white, black and white." I whispered to myself as I weaved through the surrounding centaurs belonging to the other herd. I spotted the mare lying down beside a chestnut draft. I cantered up to her and swallowed. She looked up at me with kind eyes.

"Will's herd has arrived." Her expression changed, she got up and trotted off to a group of centaurs talking. I stood by the draft that remained lying down.

"Hello, I'm Callum." He reached up to shake my hand; I bent down and shook his.

"Sigourney, just call me Sig." He smiled back. I looked back to where the mare trotted off to; a fairly large black stallion came walking back to me. Beside him walked a large white stallion, he was looking off to the side, he had white hair hanging in his eyes and sticking out around his head.

"You're from Will's herd, aren't you?" the black stallion asked in a deep gravelly voice.

"Yes. My name is Sigourney, Sig for short. I assume you are the Alpha of this herd?" I

cocked my head slightly. He nodded.

"Sigourney, this is my son, Soul." I smiled and looked over at his son. He was looking at me with large red eyes. I did a mini wave before turning back to his father.

"I'll go tell Will that everything is okay to come in." I turned and cantered back the way I came. I stopped a few feet away from Alpha.

"It's all good, we can go in." I grinned at Tilly.

The stars beamed at us as they hung in the black sky. The little ones were asleep together, along with a few tired others. The rest of us sat and talked about our new living arrangements by a deep, wide river. Tilly and Brian were swimming in the shallow area while I walked on the grass along the river. I could hear the chatter and splashing from a few feet away; I shivered slightly and hugged the wool blanket around my shoulders.

"Hi there." I nearly jumped out of my skin as a voice at my feet said.

"Down here, yeah, hi." I peered around in the darkness then suddenly spotted a flash of silver in the river that connected to a girl with silvery white hair and shimmering fins, a mermaid.

"Hello." I made a small wave.

"Come in, the water is fantastic in this area." The mermaid cocked her head and flashed a bright smile; I smiled in return and reached out a hoof to dip in the water.

"Get out of here!" A voice bellowed and grabbed me back away from the water. The mermaid shrieked and dove back under the dark water.

"Wha..." I looked down at the water.

"Mermaids look and sound sweet and gentle but once they get you in the water they'll pull you under and drown you. Be careful around the deeper areas, we've lost a few centi's because of those evil things." I swiveled my head around to see who had pulled me away. White hair stood out against the night. Soul let my arms go and I turned my body around to face him.

"Thanks. I had no idea. I've never met one before."

"Lucky you." He said unenthusiastically before turning and walking away. I stared after him for a few seconds.

"See you later then." I said quietly, he was already gone. I looked down and pondered the subject of him until Tilly screaming and laughing broke me from my thoughts. I shrugged and continued walking down the side of the river.

"Yeah, yeah. You say you can beat me, but I'm like three years older than you. And I'm way bigger than you." I looked up at the large chestnut with my hands on my hips.

"Well then you don't need to worry. Now, let's race." I raised an eyebrow. He grinned and nodded.

We faced Tilly, who was standing about a hundred feet away from us, holding her arms up.

"Ready. Set. Go!" Tilly swung her arms down and I and the stallion took off. By the time we were halfway there I was a good ten feet ahead of him.

As usual, I won.

"Well, well. You're really too fast for words. I swear ye flew most of the time!" He wiped his forehead and held a hand out to me. I shook it with enthusiasm. Tilly came trotting over to us, the guy left.

"Haha, another victory. How do you do it, Sig?" I shrugged and grinned at her.

"Sigourney! Over here, now!" I swung my head around; Alpha was motioning for me to come to him. I waved back to Tilly and sauntered through other centaurs in my way and halted in front of Alpha.

"You called?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, Daniel, Soul, myself and a few others on the protection line are going through the forest to make sure everything is safe. Check to see if there are any griffins, empousai, gorgon, harpies, hydra, you know the drill. Do you want to come? We can always use extra centi with us." He listed the deadly creatures as though they were types of trees.

"Duh! You know I love coming on excursions! Especially when I get to kill harpies. Those things creep me out." I shuddered then smiled at him.

"It's not really an excursion, but whatever. We leave tomorrow at dawn. Be at the main tent by then. And bring your bow, and your sword but make sure to bring your bow. You're most handy with that thing." I nodded eagerly. He dismissed me after we spoke for a few minutes about how the herd was adjusting to their new living arrangements. I yawned and stretched my arms back as far as they would go, then retired to my small tent. It wasn't much, a bed on the ground, a little fire burned in the corner so I wouldn't freeze at night, and a table that held a candle, but I didn't need much. I yawned again and reached behind me to untie the slip that covered my chest before I flopped down on the bed. All the other centi made fun of me for lying on my back when I slept, but I t was way more comfortable no matter how much it made me snore. I settled in with a brown wool blanket over my barrel and a grey one covering my belly and chest. I blew out the candle and closed my eyes, still thinking of the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

"Up and at 'em darling! Alpha told me to come wake ya up, now get up!" Brian called at me through the opening of my tent. I stirred and rolled to my side. I sat there rubbing my eyes for a couple minutes before pulling the blankets off me and tying the slip back on along with a looped blanket around my waist, I had made it by sewing the end of a blanket together, it came in handy when it got cold on trips like this. I slung my bow over my shoulder and did up the laces on the belted sheath for my sword at my hip. I sighed and put out the fire before leaving.

I could see my breath outside. The sky was a sad shade of yellowish grey as the sun rose into its usual spot. I walked quickly to the main tent located near the river. I could already see Brian, Fin, Matthew, Alpha Will and Alpha Daniel inside the tent. Standing outside, by the river, was Soul. He had a long sleeved wool shirt on and a broadsword at his left hip. He stared at the water for a full minute before looking over his shoulder at me. I gave him a half smile. He looked back down at the water. I sighed and continued walking to the tent.

"There she is! Alright, let's get our things and head out. I hate just sitting around." Alpha Daniel called out to the men. There were a few of his there as well, three I didn't recognize and Callum. I smiled at him and crossed the room to Will.

"I'm excited to see the new area, aren't you?" I asked, he chuckled and nodded. We all walked outside into the chill. I stepped away from Alpha to find Soul. He wasn't by the water anymore; I frowned and trotted back into the group. I spotted white hair near the front, he was with his father. I squeezed through several large stallions to the front. I trotted in between him and the centaur on his left. He glanced over and frowned.

"Hi." He raised an eyebrow before saying "hello" in return.

"Excited? Have you ever been on one of these?" I hooked my thumbs into my belt and asked.

"Yeah, you?" He turned his attention forward again.

"Of course, every chance I get." I did the same. He chuckled but remained facing forward. I smiled.

By afternoon we were deep in the forest, the sun came through the leaves of the trees; casting spotty shadows on the packed dirt. We sought a place to sit and rest for lunch, and found a large pond with an area cleared out near it for all of us to sit. I curled my legs under me just beside the pond so I could dip a hoof in if I got too hot. Soul stayed nearby with his father as Daniel discussed something with Will. He glanced my way a few times but remained silent. I munched on half a loaf of bread with some butter on it and watched them converse. Other centaurs were scattered around, some lying in the shade, others eating bread in the sun. We all needed a break; we had walked nearly ten kilometers and were getting hungry. I could two centi talking about how stinking hot it was getting just behind Soul and I.

Alpha Daniel said something to Soul then pointed at me, Soul glanced over with an incredulous face, but nodded at what his father said. I frowned and took another bite.

_What are they talking about? _I narrowed my eyes at them and chewed harder. His father placed his hands on his hips and jutted his chin out. Soul simply looked down and nodded again. I didn't wait to finish off my bread before getting up and walking to where they were standing.

"Hi Soul." I stated cheerfully. He kept his head down and his father cleared his throat before walking away. Soul was silent until his father left.

"Hi Sig." He replied dully.

"You're making me depressed, come on." I took his hand and began to lead him to the pond.

"Wh-what are you doing?" he asked skeptically, but didn't let go of my hand. I lead him to the pond and slowly walked in; once it wasn't too chilly anymore I guided him in and began to splash around.

"Come on! Don't be a pussy! Jump in, let's go swim." I yelled. I expected him to hang back and slowly walk in, but he did the opposite. He grinned a devilish grin revealing sharp jagged teeth and began galloping straight into the water. I squealed and tried to swim away, but he was way too fast. Two seconds later I had water being splashed at the back of my head and all over my back.

"Oh that's it! It's on!" I turned around and sent a wave of water over him with a swoop of my arms. He shook his soaked hair and returned the wave. I laughed and charged at him, he sent me a challenging grin and reared; I came a hairs length away from him and reared too. We crashed together and flipped into the water. We came up for air laughing. Everyone was staring at us, a few muttering "Children". We didn't care; we got out of the water and continued to play until Will told us we had to head out.

"That was too fun. Thank you, I needed that, my dad was getting on my last nerve." He sighed, I smiled back at him.

"I had to, you looked so upset after you and your dad were finished talking, I couldn't resist." I chuckled; he looked away and rubbed his arm.

"Heh, yeah." I raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

_Whatever._

We traveled until the moon was high up in the sky and we could barely see anything, even with the lanterns. I was squinting into the foliage, but only silhouettes of the trees would reveal themselves to my eyes.

"Crap. Can you see anything?" I lifted my lantern up to Soul's face and asked. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Alright, we're going to set up camp here. Since it's too dark in the forest, we can't go on." Alpha Daniel shouted. I sighed and stopped; Soul swallowed and did the same.

"I'll be right back; I need to see Will for a sec." He nodded. I trotted through the chatting groups of centi until I found Will conversing with a massive draft. I cleared my throat; both of them looked at me.

"Yes?" Will raised his brows at me.

"Can we speak in private?" I asked, glancing at the draft. He nodded and walked to another group.

"What is it?" he placed his hands on his hips, I knotted my hands together.

"I think Alpha Daniel is up to something. Soul keeps saying strange things, and I really don't know why. Do you have any idea where this trip may be taking us?" I could feel my face screwing up, but I kept staring at him. He looked slightly confused but it was clear he was thinking.

"All Daniel told me was that we're doing a perimeter check for anything or anyone dangerous, he didn't say anything else. But I trust him, he wouldn't go behind my back." His face betrayed him; his eyes were darting all over. But I nodded and gave him a small smile. He returned it and trotted back to the draft he was talking to before I interrupted. I stood there for a while before I went back to find Soul. He was kneeling by his bag, digging in there trying to find something.

"BAH!" I crept up behind him then suddenly yelled. He spasmed then whipped his head around to glare at me.

"I hate you." I rolled over, laughing, my legs flailing in the air. He stood with his hands on his hips, glaring at me.

"I HAD to! You were just sitting there! All innocent! It was too perfect!" I managed to get out as I stood up to face him. Once my vision cleared from all the tears, I saw he wasn't glaring anymore. A soft smile had replaced it. I chuckled and bit my lip.

"Heh, well we should get some sleep. It looks like everyone else is settling in for the night." I gestured to the others lying down. His smile just widened. I scratched the back of my head and chuckled nervously.

"Dibs on the moss over there!" I cried and sauntered over to a soft dark green patch of moss and lay on my back. Trying to remain quiet, I wiggled the tubular blanket that I had around my hips up to cover my body. I could hear someone walking to where I was lying. I opened my eyes to see Soul lying down on his side beside me. I closed my eyes again.

"Hey Sig? This has been pretty awesome, let's do something cool tomorrow; like find a nymph or slay a harpy. Just as long as it's cool." His voice drifted off into sleep. I did the same soon after he went.

_Yeah, it'll be a cool day._


	4. Chapter 4

[00.04}

"Soul! You doofus! We got left behind!" I smacked Soul over his head; he rubbed his injury and scowled at me. I glared right back.

"They'll come back for us! My dad wouldn't forget us." He assured me; I rubbed my temples in frustration.

"If you hadn't gotten distracted by that water faerie, we'd still be with them!" I cried out. He sighed and sat down by the large body of water and swished his hand around in the blue-green water.

"Well we may as well relax while we're here." He mumbled.

"I suppose." I walked to the edge and curled my legs under me. I left one hanging out to dip in the water and cool off.

We sat for ten minutes before we heard it. A low rumble from the bottom of the water. Soul's face immediately brightened, he looked around before following my eyes and staring at the rippling on the surface of the water. We both peered in, trying to get a better look at what was going on. My hand floated to the hilt of my sword, ready to whip it out if I needed to. Soul's hand was already resting on his hilt, ready to do the same. We stared at the water until the noise subsided, the surface calmed back to the still it was before. We looked at each other in confusion, sitting with our hands on our hilts, in total silence, not even the birds were singing. The silence was broken seconds after it came. An explosion came bursting through the surface, a massive beast came wriggling out of the water, its huge head and long neck came first, then its enormous body carried by four giant arms and legs. Our broadswords flew out simultaneously, and we jumped to our feet together. Neither of us cried out or screamed, we knew what was happening and what this thing was. Soul mouthed the word to himself just as I recognized the monster.

_Hydra._

"Soul! Watch for its tail! They can be poison tipped!" I called out to him as I ran past the beasts head and slashed at its legs. I managed to slice through one. Only the heads grow back. I was able to slide under it and stab its belly. I ripped my sword through its stomach, making it spew black blood and other fluids. Soul was working on getting its tail off, I watched him duck under the spiked tip and gallop to the base. In one swift movement, he jammed his sword up into the base of its tail, not cutting it off but slicing through the nerve, immobilizing the tail. I stared in awe, his face was so determined. His shark like teeth clenched together, his blood red eyes were filled with hate and excitement. It all went away when he looked at me. Fear filled his eyes as he saw me, he screamed something but I couldn't understand anything. Suddenly pain flooded my arm; the hydra had my shoulder in its jaws. I screamed and flung my sword at it, it stabbed below its eye making it groan and let me go. But my body was already in shock, all the adrenaline in me wouldn't have stopped me from passing out. With Soul fighting the hydra off, I leaned against a boulder and collapsed.

_Dear god my entire body hurts._

"Sig, come on get up. Hey, come on, you gotta get up." I could hear his voice, but it was so hard to will my eyes open. He was so blurry, but I could make out his white hair and red eyes.

"Oh thank god, come on, keep your eyes open." He shook me softly. I blinked and reached up to rub my eyes. After clearing my vision, I looked up at Soul. He was covered in black blood, and some red blood. I gasped.

"Oh god! You're hurt!" I cried out, he looked alarmed then saw the blood and laughed.

"That's yours." He smiled weakly.

"Oh." I looked myself over, and stopped at my shoulder. There were four large and fairly deep gashed in my left shoulder. Blood was running down my arm and dripping off my fingertips.

"Oh jeez. Ugh, that doesn't, mph, look good." I finally got out. He chuckled and nodded. I looked back at it and noticed something in my shoulder. I took a deep breath and reached up to get it out. I groaned and huffed but managed to pull out a long white thing.

"Oh wow, some of the hydras tooth broke off and got stuck in your shoulder." He looked quite astounded. I held the tooth in my palm. It was about four inches long and an inch wide, it was covered in my blood and the hydras. I studied it. There was a narrow hole going through the tooth and exited the tip. Must be for the venom. I let out an exhausted breath and set it down. I looked around to see if the hydra had retreated, but instead found its dead body half in the water. I looked back up at Soul; he was already looking at me. I was on my back and had my head resting against his chest.

"You killed it? By yourself?" I asked, looking back at it. I could feel him nod

_He really is kind of amazing._

"Hey! Wake up girly! Hey, you. Kid, yeah you. Get her up. Now!" I heard a gruff voice call out; it was coming from somewhere very near. I mustered up strength and concentrated on opening my eyes. I blinked a few times to clear my currently blurry vision. There was a whitish shape leaning over me and three darker ones from behind the white one. The more I blinked the more I could make out. The rough voice was coming from a man with dark curly red hair to his shoulders, while the others were just dark people. But I could clearly see Soul now. Standing over me, shaking my shoulders softly and whispering for me to wake up.

"Mph, yeh. S-S-ugh. S-Soul?" He brightened up and knelt down to shake me harder.

"She's awake!" He turned and called to the red haired man.

"Oh god, you blacked out after that hydra bit you and I was so worried, but then these guys showed up and told me what to do, and-and, oh I'm so glad you're okay." He said quietly to me. I closed my eyes and smiled

"Wh-who are they?" I opened my eyes and asked, glancing over at them. Soul frowned and shrugged. He looked incredibly confused, then got to his feet and walked to the men, presumably to ask them what they were doing here. I closed my eyes again to rest them.

"Wait what! Hell no!" Soul yelled, he sounded unsure. My eyes flung open, and it was as if I was fine again. I began to get to my feet, stumbling at first but standing up nonetheless, and tried to walk to Soul. I say tried because I fell twice over a span of twenty feet.

"Sigourney! Run! Get out of here!" Soul turned and cried at me, I rose to my feet and tried to trot away. But I was slow and weak. I looked back to see a dark man hold something up and aim at Soul, he pulled his finger back and the thing fired a dart at Soul, it embedded in his shoulder blade. Soul was out before he could take another step. I stared, horrified at his limp figure for a few seconds before looking back at the man, he was aiming the thing at me. I barely got a scream out before a dart pricked my left breast. I got one last look at Soul before everything faded around me and I could feel myself hit the ground.

_Who are these people..._


	5. Chapter 5

{00.05}

"Mph, ugh. Whas goin on?" I struggled to get out and tried to roll over, when I finally realized I couldn't, I opened my eyes. Everything was a little bit fuzzy, but after a few seconds I could make out Soul. He was lying on his side, face in blissful sleep. I looked down and noticed his hands were tied together. I was suddenly very awake and aware of what was happening. My hands were tied incredibly tight; I could feel the rope burns on my wrists. I gave everything I had and sat up, legs tucked under my body. The breeze against my skin made me painfully aware that my slip was gone and I was fully exposed. I covered my chest with my arms and hands, and looked out of one of the clear spaces in the large box like space we were in. It was a very strange place, there were tall things everywhere we passed-_passed?_We were moving. Very fast. The tall things were whizzing by. I shook my head and looked away. Soul was lying so peacefully.

_I should wake him up._

I decided and leaned down so I was closer to him. I shook his shoulder, softly at first then harder.

"Soul! Wake up! I don't know where we are!" I shook him violently until his eyes flew open. He looked me up and down.

"You're tied up." He frowned.

"So are you, look, I have no idea where we are. There's these huge tall things all around and it feels like we're moving, like, really fast." His eyes widened and he sat up so he was in the same position as me and looked out the clear space. He turned back to me, confusion plastered on his face.

"I-I have no idea where we are." He stuttered.

We sat there in silence for what seemed like forever before we both felt a jolt and the box-like moving thing came to a halt. One side of it shuddered and flew up. Sunlight flooded in, blinding us momentarily. Once we recovered, I looked out of the opening. Three men were standing there, hands on hips. I recognized them instantly. The ones who came after Soul and I.

"Let's go, I don't wanna keep the boss waitin'." Red head said to the other two. Both of them climbed into the box. One grabbed me by the arm and hauled me to my feet. The other did the same to Soul. They led us out of the box and onto the ground. Our hooves clicked loudly on the hard, stone-like ground. I had a better look at the place around us now that I was out of the box. The man jerked my arm forward and led me up to one of the things. I looked around as I walked. There were these weird creatures everywhere. They looked like from the hips up, but from that down there were just two skinny things that they walked on. And they wore strange looking clothing, they even walked funny. They all stared at Soul and I. It hit me. I looked down at the man leading me, only to see he was one of them.

I could tell Soul had noticed them too. He was looking around, fairly confused.

_What are we doing here?_

We had been lead through a labyrinth of strange shiny things that brought us up and down and through maze like halls before we got to where the men were taking us. It was a large room with two chairs and a table in between them. Another one of those things was sitting in one of the chairs. He was looking straight ahead.

"Sir, we've brought them as you've asked." Red head came forward and said.

"Yes, thank you, Garry. You may go." The man didn't look at him as he spoke. Garry nodded and gestured for the two others to exit with him. Once they all were gone the man looked at us. He stared for a few seconds before standing up and walking to us. He stopped in front of me.

"You, what's your name?" He asked me.

"S-Sigourney." I stuttered in reply. He looked me up and down.

"Clydesdale huh? Pretty little thing, you are." I could hear Soul growl in his throat.

"Don't like the name though, you're gonna be... Lucy. Yes that suits you." I flinched.

_How dare he try to just change my name like that!_

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously. He glared at me before raising his hand and backhanding me.

"Do not question me, or I will have you killed. Enough of your little antics." He continued to glare at me. I stared back, holding my cheek. I tasted blood.

"Now, you are a Clydesdale, correct?" I nodded.

"Perfect. Oh goodness you are magnificent. So tall and majestic." He beamed and looked me back over before frowning and taking something out of his pocket. It was a small knife, he gestured at my hands. I held them up, hesitantly. He sliced through the rope, freeing my hands. I rubbed each wrist carefully, they were red and tender. He looked over at Soul before walking to him and doing the same. He sighed and rolled his wrists.

"My, my. Two gorgeous centaurs. A Canadian warmblood, and a Clydesdale. Garry has outdone himself." The man stated to neither of us. I opened my mouth, but thought better of it and shut it.

"What makes you so special? You are a magnificent beast, you must be amazing at least one thing." He stuck his chin out at me. I swallowed.

"I-I'm fast." I said quietly. He smiled.

"Really? Usually Clydesdales are incredibly strong, yet slower than most. You must race one of my thoroughbreds. And you, what are you so amazing at?" He cocked his head at Soul. Soul frowned before speaking.

"Strength is on my side." Soul looked down at the man. He nodded and grinned.

"Excellent, you two will be put to work quickly. Make me proud." He snapped and two men came in to take us away.

_Work?_


	6. Chapter 6

{00.06}

**_Seven Months Later._**

I was making my bed when I saw a woman standing in my doorway.

"Hello, Rachel. Is there something today?" I finished making my bed and waited for her to answer.

"Lucy, Mr. Waters has something important in mind for you and Soul today." She sifted through her bag before pulling out a thick manila envelope. I hesitated before walking over to her and taking it. It was heavy.

"B-but I haven't worked with Soul in weeks?" I looked down at her questioningly. "Why aren't I going with another human?"

"Because, this is a very particular assignment. And you two need each other on this one." She stated. I swallowed and nodded.

"Now, you have to be in the T room in an hour. So go get breakfast and head down there as soon as possible. I'm going to go let Soul know about all this. Good luck." She tipped her head down and left. I sighed and opened up the envelope, I dumped the contents out on my bed. There were several photographs, some of people and some of locations. A plane ticket came out along with three thick duo-tangs labeled "Darell Gilbertson". I leafed through each duo-tang finding almost the exact same information in all of them, except one. The dark blue one held an e-mail to Mr. Waters. At the end of the e-mail was a picture of Soul and I on our first assignment. Soul was holding an ax, blood dripping off the blade. I stood next to him holding an FN P90, and firing it repeatedly. Our faces were those of tortured souls. Neither of us had ever killed people before, their cries of pain rang in my ears for days after that massacre. It's gotten much easier since then. I shook my head of the memory and read the e-mail.

_Dear Mr. Waters, _

_I have seen the work you and your workers have accomplished. I am in need of the services you provide. There is a man in Taiwan who runs a company of female trafficking. He has taken my daughter Amelia. Me and my wife have tried everything to get her back, but we can't find anyone who would dare break onto his property. I am asking you because I have seen how you do things. I have seen your employees and I am sure they can accomplish this task. Do anything it takes to get her back. But I do have one condition, I want these two. Send whoever else along with them, but I want those two out there. I will send information on where the man's hideout is and Amelia._

_Thank you, Rob Farell._

I rubbed my temples and thought about what he had said. I let it all sink in before packing everything back into the envelope.

"Alright lets do this." I whispered to myself and walked to my dresser. I pulled out the black leather belt with the holster for my gun and buckled it around my waist. I reached back in the drawer for my handgun and a magazine, shoved it in, pulled back the slide and let go, loading a bullet in the chamber. I sighed in admiration then turned the safety on, before putting it in its holster.

_Ready to go._

The kitchen had a few people in it plus a couple centi. I walked over to the pantry and grabbed an apple and a few pieces of brie. I decided to eat while I walked to the T room (T stands for training). By the time I reached the door I was on my last piece of brie. I popped it in my mouth and opened the door. Humans were scattered everywhere along with several centi. A few were using punching bags, others were using the simulators, fighting off others "humans", and the rest were doing target practice, using guns, bow and arrows, swords, and axes. I looked through all of them. I couldn't spot the spiky white hair anywhere. he would've most likely been doing hand combat with some other centaur, but he wasn't to be found. I heard a scraping noise behind me, acting off of the instincts I had developed over the months, I ripped my gun from its holster, flicked the safety off and swung around, aiming it at whatever made the noise behind me.

"Soul you asshole! I could've shot you!" I shoved my gun back in its holster and glared at him. He doubled over laughing, when he finally raised his head and looked down at me, he just smiled.

"Ah, I've missed you." He wasn't wearing a shirt. I could feel my cheeks redden only slightly.

"Yeah me too. It's been a while." I tried to look at his face but, it was really hard. He had changed so much in the past month. His face was less soft and boyish, and his eyes were darker and brighter at the same time.

"Let's go find Mr. Waters. I wanna get going." He grinned at me, flashing the same razor sharp teeth. I nodded.

"You two have a very important task. I trust you read all the information you were given?" Mr. Waters raised his eyebrows, we nodded.

"Good, you will be on a plane to Taiwan in four hours, get everything you need ready, that includes weapons, and be out front in one hour. Someone will brief you on what to do when you get to the airport. Understood?" We nodded simultaneously. He then dismissed us. We walked in silence for a few minutes.

"Alright. Let's meet in the W room in say, half an hour." I asked, not looking at him.

"Sure. This is me, see you there." He replied before turning to his door. I kept walking.

I opened my closet and grabbed the black backpack I use for trips. I threw it on the bed and unzipped it. I rummaged through my drawers, throwing certain shirts I wanted to take on the bed. When I finished getting a few shirts, I pulled out a black hoodie for any cool nights. I rolled them all up and packed them into the backpack. I opened the bottom drawer of my nightstand and grabbed my flashlight, and a handheld GPS. I packed them both into a smaller pocket and zipped it up. Once sure I had everything I needed from my room, I grabbed five more magazines from the top drawer on my dresser and put them in the side pocket. I zipped up all the compartments, threw on an olive green T-shirt and put the backpack on.

The W room (weapons room) had a few people in it, examining guns, swords etc. Soul was holding a sword, and looked as though he was weighing it. To him, the heavier the better. I dropped my backpack by the door, attracting the attention of most of the people in the room, including Soul, and walked over to a large glass rack holding some of the larger machine guns. I immediately picked a FN F2000 my choice weapon, and two MAC 11's. I put the MAC 11's in my backpack, and held the FN F2000. Soul grinned at me as I walked up to him.

"Always with that thing." He gestured to the FN. I grinned back at him.

"Alright let me just grab some ammo for these bad boys and we'll head outside." I looked up at him, he nodded and walked off in the direction of the blades. I walked over to the wall of drawers filled with ammo. I grabbed four magazines for each MAC 11 and seven for my FN F2000, I used it the most.

Soul was standing with an MP5k in one hand and a duffel bag on the other shoulder. I chuckled and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Ready to go?" I nodded, we walked side by side out the door, down the hall and into the lobby. I took my backpack off and put my FN inside the large compartment, then swung it back over my shoulders. We walked down the stairs to the double doors. I noticed a man running over to us waving at me.

"Ronnie! C'mere you little shit!" I leaned down and hugged him. The seventeen year old ginger laughed when I finally let him go.

"I hear you two were going to the airport, can I come?" He asked, slightly out of breath.

"Of course! Hop on." I turned to the side to let him climb on my back. He scrambled up and settled down, holding my barrel with his long legs and holding onto the strap on my backpack.

"Alright, let's go." I turned to Soul, he looked at me funny but nodded. We walked out the double doors and came out on the sidewalk. The cars raced past and humans walked by us, giving us strange looks. We trotted up the sidewalk, waiting for a chance to cut in and get on the road. Finally, there were no cars, we quickened our pace and got on the road. We broke out into a gallop, I could hear Ronnie laughing behind me. Soul just looked at him strange.

"Oh come on. You get ridden all the time!" I yelled at him.

"Yeah but only when I HAVE to! You seem happy to let him just climb on!" He cried back.

"I am!" I laughed even louder, and sped up, leaving him behind a few feet.

"Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about!" Ronnie yelled, I chuckled and kept my pace. It felt like I was going a million miles an hour.

"I hate it when you do that. Can you not control those damn legs!" Soul scowled as we cantered into the parking lot of the airport. I chuckled.

"That's why I love riding her. She can go for hours at breakneck speed! She is definitely one of the best my dad has." He said to Soul.

"I know, there's been more than a couple times that she's left me behind." He shot a glare at me. We walked into the airport, Ronnie still on my back. People stared at us like we had six heads among us. Soul pulled out his ticket.

"Okay, our flight is at terminal G. Let's hurry up and get there." Soul put his ticket back in on of the pockets of his jacket. I nodded.

"Ronnie you coming there with us or do you want me to drop you off here?" I asked my passenger.

"I'll hop off here, thanks for the ride!" He replied giddily and swung his leg over and hopped off.

"Bye! I'll see you when we get back." I called out to his retreating form. I trotted to catch up with Soul, who had a peeved expression plastered plainly all over his face. I sighed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, cocking my head and looking up at him. He frowned, but let it go and his face softened to a half smile, he turned to me and took my face in his hands. His face was inches from mine. I could feel my cheeks get hot. His lips were almost on mine.

"Nothing." He whispered and let me go. I stared wide-eyed and red-faced as he continued walking.

"Coming?" He called over his shoulder. I swallowed and trotted up to his side.

_Holy shit._


	7. Chapter 7

{00.07}

The company jet waited for us to load in before it shot off into the atmosphere. I swallowed down what tasted like vomit, I had never gotten used to flying. I could hear Soul giggling at my nauseousness, I glared at him before pulling a barf bag out of one of the cupboards. When I was finished using it, a stewardess came and took it, a slightly grossed out look on her face. It's probably not every day she handles centaur puke. I put a few pieces of mint gum in my mouth to rid my taste buds of the nastiness. The nausea always went away after we were finished ascending or descending. I chewed the three sticks of gum until my tongue was slightly numb from all the freshness, ugh finally.

"So, Taiwan. I wonder what it'll be like? I know it's really humid there, and where we're headed is in like the middle of a rainforest." Soul looked out his window. I couldn't look out mine. Instead I looked around the private cabin. There were two leather chairs on one side, and a long plush couch on the other. Soul and I lay on the couch, with him facing my back, and me facing the door to the cockpit.

"I read that it's full of strange animals there, and even a few native tribes still inhabit it." I replied, my back still to him.

"Well, it's gonna be a long flight, I'm gonna catch a few Z's." He stated and leaned his head on one of the cushions. It was true, the flight from Dallas, Texas to Taipei, Taiwan would be at least fifteen hours. I sighed and crossed my arms on a cushion to lay my head on. Within a few minutes I was asleep.

Some turbulence brought me out of my slumber. I raised my head and stretched my arms. It was dark out, I could see a few stars above us. The only time I actually liked flying was at night. I turned around to check on Soul, only to find his head resting on my butt and his arms stretched out along my back. I giggled and faced forward again, I pulled one of the drawers open and grabbed a fruit cup and a spoon. I ate my snack in silence before deciding to put in ear buds and listen to some music. I put my fruit cup down on the counter next to the couch and got up. I looked back to see if I had woken Soul up, he stretched and yawned. I walked over to te other side of the cabin and knelt down in front of a cupboard. It was full of electronics. I sifted through the computers and DVD players until I got to an I-Pod. I snatched it along with the ear buds connected to it.

"What're you doing?" Soul asked drowsily. I shut the cupboard and walked back to the couch. I curled up in the same position as I was in before holding up the I-Pod. I placed each ear bud in carefully before turning the I-Pod on. When it finally turned on, I scrolled through the music before selecting a track.

_**La La Latch-Pentatonix**_

_La la La la La la La la La la La la_

_La la La la La la La la La la La la_

_La la La la La la La la La la La la_

_La la La la La la La la La la La la_

_You lift my heart up_  
_when the rest of me is down_  
_You, you enchant me_  
_even when you're not around_

_If there are boundaries,_  
_I will try to knock them down_  
_I'm latching on, babe,_  
_now I know what I have found _

_(Never)_

_Hush, don't speak_  
_When you spit your venom,_  
_keep it shut I hate it_  
_When you hiss and preach_  
_About your new messiah '_  
_cause your theories catch fire_

_I can't find your silver lining_  
_I don't mean to judge_  
_But when you read your speech,_  
_it's tiring_

_Enough is enough_

_I'm covering my ears like a kid_  
_When your words mean nothing,_

_I go la la la_

_I'm turning up the volume when you speak_  
_If my heart can't stop it,_  
_I find a way to block it, I go_

_La la La la La la La la La la La la_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_

_(Never)_

_I'm so encaptured,_  
_got me wrapped up in your touch_

_Feel so enamored,_  
_hold me tight within your clutch_

_How do you do it,_  
_you got me losing every breath_

_What did you give me_  
_to make my heart beat out my chest_

_Now I got you in my space_  
_I won't let go of you_

_Got you shackled in my embrace_

_I'm latching on to you_

_(Never let go, I wont let go)_

_I feel we're close enough_

_(I can't find your silver lining)_

_I wanna lock in your love_

_(I don't mean to judge)_

_I feel we're close enough_

_(When you read your speech, it's tiring)_

_Enough is enough_

_I'm covering my ears like a kid_

_I'm latching on to you La la la_

_I'm turning up the volume when you speak_

_If my heart can't stop it,_  
_I find a way to block it, I go_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_  
_(La la la la Latchin on you)_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_  
_La la La la La la La la La la La la_

_(Never!)_

It took me the entire song to finally realize Soul was staring at me. I swallowed and turned the volume up as the next track began playing. I took a deep breath and looked right back at him. It wasn't long before his intense stare broke into a large grin, showing off his brilliantly sharp teeth. I blushed and smirked right back. He mouthed something I couldn't hear, but I could definitely make out.

_"God I love you."_

I only slept for a couple hours after I had woken up the first time. Soul slept almost the entire time. He was asleep when they brought breakfast and lunch. Finally when we were preparing to land, I decided to wake him up.

"Hey! Lazy bones! get up. We're landing." I shoved his shoulder and said loudly.

"Mph, yeah I'm up." He said, but continued to snore softly.

"Hey! Get up!" I smacked his head and pushed down on his chest over and over, like I was performing CPR.

"Y-ES, I'm UP, g-ET O-ff M-oof!" His eyes flew open and I stopped.

"Ugh, what the hell Sig!" He got up and frowned at me.

"Sorry, you weren't getting up." I replied innocently. He sighed, clearly exasperated. I chuckled.

"We're landing, that's why you needed to get up." I added. He immediately brightened.

"Oh, were getting off! Hallelujah, finally. I think I've got jet-lag already." He bounced off the couch and to his feet. I felt the planes nose tip down slightly, indicating we were descending. My stomach dropped along with it, I clutched the arm of the sofa, stabilizing myself. The puke was coming up.

"Barf bag, barf bag, where are the barf bags?" I managed to get out between deep gulps of air. Soul grimaced and passed me a white paper bag. I held it to my mouth while I kept doing my deep breathing.

"Soul can you pass me my flying gum? It's under the throw pillow I was sleeping on. Bugh." I turned back to the bag, preparing to spew.

"Ugh I can't watch this." He handed me my gum and quickly walked back to the other end of the cabin to pour himself a drink. Just five seconds later the plane dove down again, making my ears pop and my lunch come up.

"Why do you get so sick on planes? You're fine in trailers, on trains, even on boats. What's up with planes?" Soul questioned once a stewardess had taken away my gross barf bag. I popped four pieces of spearmint gum in my mouth and chewed until the tip of my tongue was cold.

"I don't know. I'm not afraid of heights, it's just the turbulence and getting shaken up while I'm airborne is just... sickening." I chewed faster.

"Oh, weird." He took a sip of rum and Coke, but his face screwed up as he was swallowing.

"Did you hear that?" He looked around.

"Hear what?"

"There was something that sounded like metal scraping metal."

"Um. Where did it come from?" I looked around, straining my ears.

"Cockpit." His face went dead, I exhaled slowly and pulled my gun from its holster. Soul and I inched silently toward the door to the cockpit. I flicked the safety off and cocked my pistol. We were only a few feet away from the door when the entire plane shook violently, then took a nose dive. I shrieked then clutched my stomach and fell to my knees. Soul grunted, took my gun and busted down the door to the cockpit. I looked up briefly to see a man in a forest green jumpsuit buckling a parachute pack around his chest. He flashed a grin at Soul and I, then ran through the emergency door beside the co-pilots seat.

"Shit. Shit! Sig! Get up! The pilot's dead and we need to get the hell off this plane!" I swallowed and nodded, my legs wobbled, but I stood up and followed Soul to the back of the cabin where the emergency equipment was held. Soul rushed to me with two parachutes. He helped me get mine on.

"Soul, grab our bags. I don't know where we're gonna land and I want to be safe." He nodded and trotted back to the couch and grabbed my backpack and his duffel bag. I took my backpack and clutched it to my chest. Soul swung his duffel over his shoulder and turned to the emergency exit in the cabin.

"Hungh! Ugh." He grunted and pulled the lever. A gust of cold air flew in and shot through me.

"Okay, jump in 3... 2... 1!" I grabbed hold of his hand last minute and launched myself out the exit. With one hand I grasped my bag, and with the other I held on to Souls hand with all my strength. I didn't open my eyes until Soul screamed to open my chute. I gasped, let go of his hand and yanked the cord on my pack. The parachute exploded out of captivity. I was jerked back up into the sky, my bag almost ripped from my hands. I looked around for Soul once I was settled. I spotted him only slightly above me, his legs pulled up to his body. I looked down at the ground, we were close to landing. Out in the near distance was an unnaturally blue body of water. I frowned and looked closer, very close to it was the tip of a roof.

_It's his house._

"Soul! I see his house! It's close!" I yelled up at him, he nodded and made a big O with his arms.

I hit the ground with a _thud! _and the parachute fell around me. I was exhausted, I lay there and didn't open my eyes until I heard a loud cry.

"Waaahh! Ah fuck!" He yelled. I stood up and threw the parachute off me. Soul was lying on his back with his arms spread like wings.

"Oh, are you okay? Are you hurt?" I asked, checking him over for wounds.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just landed on a rock." He rolled over and got to his feet. We were surrounded by enormous trees and thick vines, one was actually a long emerald python. Soul bent over and picked up his duffel bag, it had landed a few feet away from us. I searched around for my backpack, it was hanging from a branch on one of the large trees.

"God dammit!" I yelled.

"What?" Soul sauntered over to me, I sighed and pointed at my bag. He grinned.

"Don't worry, I've got it." He reared and set his front hooves on the tree trunk, he reached as far as his arms could stretch. He lifted my bag off the branch, and set his hooves back on the ground. With a smirk, he handed me my bag.

"Thanks." I grumbled and snatched the backpack from his hands.

"Yeah, you're welcome." He smirked again.

"So, I think the house was this way. We'd better get going before it gets dark." I looked up at the sky, the sun was fading.

"Hey, Sig?" Soul caught my arm.

"Yes, Soul?" I turned back to him. His eyebrows were furrowed and he was biting his bottom lip.

"We have almost died, quite a few times."

"So?"

"I like to believe that we won't die."

"And?"

"And I... I just... I want to... I want you to know that you are without a doubt, my best friend."

"But?"

"But. Oh for the love of god, stop trying to get me to say more stuff." He threw his arms up and stepped even closer to me, I felt his breath on my forehead. He lifted a hand and tipped my chin up.

"I was going to say, that I wanted live forever." He whispered before pressing his mouth down on mine. I had never been kissed before. Ever. But it's pretty fantastic. Soul was soft but incredibly strong. We broke apart, I was a little dazed.

"But only if I can spend it with you." He whispered.

"Ahaha! Oh god! You're way too cheesy! I've seen that line in sooo many movies!" I bent over laughing. He crossed his arms and waited for me to finish.

"God I should leave you here." He began walking.

"No! It's okay! I'm coming!" I stumbled after him, he stopped with his back to me.

"I'm sorry. It was just a little strange and out of the blue. But you have to know that I love you too." I looked up at the back of his head. He stood back-to-me for a few seconds before he turned around.

"You heard me." He pursed his lips, then smiled.

"Yeah, I did." I smiled back, he poked me between the eyes. I flicked his ear.

"You're so annoying." He kissed my forehead.

_I really don't want to die yet._


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys, sorry I haven't posted a new chapter in forever but I've been really busy with school and all that good stuff. Anyways, enjoy!**

{0.008}

"Uh, no. I remember. It was that way." I said and pointed to what I guessed was north-east. He rubbed his chin and squinted past my finger. I raised my eyebrows in impatience.

"Mmm... no. My gut says that we've got trouble that way. Sorry kiddo, you're wrong." He said, patting his stomach. I grunted in anger.

_Soul, I wanna wring your neck sometimes._

"No!" I barked, making him flinch.

"I know where I saw that house, and it was this way. Now I'm going this way, and have fun getting lost in the jungle." I spun around and trotted off, waving a hand back at him, taunting him and daring him to come follow. I eventually heard footsteps behind me and slowed so he could catch up.

"I still think there's trouble this way." He mumbled.

"That's kind of the point of these little adventures. Y'know, save the girl, kill the bad guys. It's just trivial." I saw a small smirk dance on his lips for a second and couldn't help but smile in return.

At some point that afternoon we arrived at a large clearing. No trees, no plants, just dirt and some mud here and there from overnight rain. We were cautious until we reached about halfway through, it was just deserted. No people anywhere. It was a long time before we spotted anything other than dirt. About two hours later we reached a small oasis. A little pond with some fat koi fish swimming around, a palm tree, some sand around the pond, a large leafy plant that held, what sounded like frogs, and strangely enough a wicker basket. There was a black cloth over the top; hiding the contents from the sun and any hungry critters. By that time we were thirsty and not willing to drink the last bottle of water in my backpack, so we grabbed an empty one and filled it up with the weirdly clean and fresh pond water. We had obviously caught on that it was a setup, but were so thirsty we didn't really care. After drinking two bottles full of pond water each, we decided it was a good time to check what was in the basket. We both swore that if it was a bomb we would push the other out of the way. Soul decided, because he's a man, that he'd check it out. I agreed and stood by the palm tree. Soul was as stealthy as a cat as he approached the basket, he eyed it warily, then circled it again. Deciding nothing on the outside was going to trigger anything, he inched his hand towards the corner of the cloth. His fingers had barely touched it when the basket shuddered. He tensed, then ripped the cover off. I turned away, thinking something was about to jump out at Soul. But nothing happened. I looked at the basket and nothing was there, Soul was on his knees covering his head.

"Wha-" The basket shuddered again. I inched towards it and something sprang out at me. I screamed and took off, not looking back. I galloped as fast as I possibly could until I knew I had put some distance between me and what had popped out at me. I halted, remembering Soul and took off back to the oasis. I was out of breath and sweating profusely when I finally got back.

"Where is it! I'll kill it with my bare hands!" I yelled and received a giggle in return. I whipped around to where the noise came from and immediately sighed, exasperated. Soul was on his back with a baby dragon lying on his stomach.

"Hell no! We're leaving!" I stomped up to him and looked down at his face. He made puppy eyes at me.

"Come on! He'll be so ferocious when he gets older! You'll love him." He pleaded up at me, dragon asleep on his stomach. I glared at him and turned around.

"I'm leaving. Take the dragon if you want to. I'm not going to parent you this entire mission. Just don't let him get in the way of what we need to do." I looked over my shoulder to see Soul pick him up and hold him in his arms like a baby. It was a dark olive green with large folded wings and a long tail that ended in spikes. But what caught my attention was the fact that its head and neck were a shimmering gold that faded into the dark green of his body.

"What are you naming it." I asked him as he caught up beside me, dragon in arms.

"I haven't thought of that. Maybe, Severus?" He looked at me. I averted my gaze and nodded.

"Huh, Severus? Severus Evans." He grinned.

"You're an idiot."

"Oh don't be like that."

"I'm not saving you if that thing tries to eat you."

We finally saw the edge of a forest and I immediately perked up. I burst into a full gallop from a walk and left Soul and his little pet in my dust. I only got a few strides in before I heard him thundering up behind me. I sped up as much as I could. I may as well have been flying. My hooves hit the ground twice before I was hovering over the earth at breakneck speed again. The forests edge came up and I immediately slowed to a calm canter. Soul zoomed past me and barely collected before he hit a tree.

"You seriously have to warn me when you're going to just break out like that." Soul panted as he trotted back to my side. I shrugged and sighed as I stepped onto the cushy moss forest floor, it was such a relief from the dirt and gravel we had been walking on for the past three hours. I could hear Soul grunt in ease as he walked behind me.

"Sig, where are we?" Honestly, I wasn't too sure. But I knew that we were headed in the right direction.

"Don't worry, we'll get there."

Dammit. We should have arrived by now, or at least seen some signs of a home being around here, and now it's getting darker out.

"We need to stop while we still have some light and find somewhere to spend the night." I sighed, but it wasn't going to happen tonight.

"I'll try to find some dry wood so we can at least get a fire going." Soul set Severus down beside my bag. I glared at the back of his head.

"I'm going to search around here to see if there's any predators." I mumbled to myself. Severus decided to wake up, fly up to me and land on my wither. I grimaced, but he looked so excited that I let him come with me on my search.

He turned out to be handy. We ran into three Stymphalian birds, which he quickly scared off. By the time we got back to where I had left my bag, Soul was lying by a reasonable camp fire. His eyes were focused on the embers. Sadness coated his face like paint, I didn't need to ask, I knew what he was thinking of.

"We'll see them again." Was all I said. He swallowed and I could feel a lump in my throat. Tears welled in my eyes as I saw Will's face. I began to shake slightly, not because of cold, but because I knew I was lying to him and myself when I said we would see them. Somewhere deep down, I knew Soul knew it too. He put a hand on my leg and I lay down beside him. A fat drop rolled down my face and slid into my mouth. I licked it and wiped my face with both hands. Soul sniffed next to me. We stared into the fire until Severus climbed off my back and came to lie down in front of us, to get closer to the fire no doubt. We looked at him as he lifted a wing to heat it up. I couldn't take it, I broke out sobbing uncontrollably, my face in my hands.

"Soul..." I whispered as he wrapped his arms around me. We stayed in each others arms until he calmed me down. I hadn't cried about what happened in six months. He knotted his fingers in my hair and tightened his grip on me. I could tell he was trying to keep himself together for me.

"I'm here." He repeated, choking back tears every so often. I internally slapped myself for crying and swallowed. He let me go, but kept one hand on my shoulder. I wiped my blotchy face and laughed quietly. Soul's face was bright red, like he had been holding his breath the entire time. He smiled and brightened even more.

"It's gonna get cold, I'm gonna change." I rose and walked to my backpack, pulled out a fleecy black long sleeve shirt. I was in an olive green T-shirt and was beginning to freeze. I turned back to Soul.

"Avert your eyes. Now." I made a twirling motion with my fingers and he covered his eyes with his hands. I peeled off the shirt and swapped it for the long sleeve. When I turned around, Soul was as bright as anyone could get, squeezing his eyes shut. I chuckled before it dawned on me that he peeked. I grabbed my T-shirt and whipped him with it. His eyes shot open and he frowned before catching my eye and grinning. I made a disgusted noise and lay down opposite him. Severus was sitting dangerously close to the fire, but he was a dragon so it was fine. I fell asleep on my side, with my legs and arms curled in. Soul was shrugging on a jacket of his own when I finally drifted off.


End file.
